Walking to St Mary's felt surreal, there were so few people in the street, I thought the ground would be half empty, I expected a toxic atmosphere, but in the end I saw what felt like a testimonial game.
Reading social media in the week prior to the game did not make nice reading, it did not paint a pretty picture of how the day was likely to pan out, the fans were going to be revolting and Ruben Selles would be serenaded out of the club, but not in a good way.
What we got was a lively day that from a Saints perspective had both ends of the scale, some awful defending but complimented by some exhilarating attacking.
The starting line up saw no shocks, but on the bench, there was plenty of youth giving us hope for the future.
After an ok start for Saints came the usual poor defending, Saints were initially under no pressure in the 10th minute when they passed out from Alex McCarthy to his defenders, but they found themselves closed down, the sensible thing would have been to hoof it at this stage, but the ball was passed yet again this time to Romeo Lavia who facing his own goal could not see Jota behind him as he tried to pass and the Liverpool man intercepted the pass and fired into an empty net.
Four minutes later and it was 2-0 and suddenly it was looking like we might be on for a pasting, at this stage it looked like there could be 8 goals in this game and we wouldn't be getting many of them.
But Saints dug in and got themselves back into the game, on 19 minutes James Ward Prowse scored from open play when he finished a slick move, then 9 minutes later good work from Theo Walcott saw Kamaldeen Sulemana fire home an equaliser.
The second half was barely underway when Sulemana scored again and for the second time we saw his acrobatic goal celebration.
But it got better when Adam Armstrong latched on to a through ball and slotted the ball home to show the home crowd he might be a vital player in the Championship.
But the 4-2 lead didn't last long, 8 minutes to be precise when Gakpo poked the ball over the line from about 2 foot out, at this stage you hoped that Saints would keep it tight, but a minute later Liverpool were level, a stunning finish from Jota and perhaps the only goal Saints really could do nothing about.
The last 20 minutes could have gone either way, but multiple substitutions from both sides upset the flow of play and although either side could have won it, both seemed content with an entertaining draw.
The game was played in a good atmosphere with both sets of fans in good voice, but there were two moments in the game that will be remembered, firstly when Firmino left the pitch in his last game for Liverpool in the 57th minute, he was allowed to milk the applause, not just from the away supporters but also the Saints fans who showed their appreciation of a good player.
But 7 minutes later as Moi Elyounoussi left to a warm appreciation from most of the Saints support, as he was embraced by Lyanco on the way off in stepped Jordan Henderson to try and push them off the pitch.
This left a little sour taste and from remarks on Liverpool social media it seems their supporters also thought that Henderson out of order.
Late in the game saw a flurry of subs including Dominic Ballard & Amo-Ameyaw, but it seemed poignant that as the new guard came on off went the old guard, James Ward Prowse departing early in a game is not the norm and it seemed that our Captain was leaving the pitch for the last time and was being giving a chance to take the applause.
Ruben Selles said after that this was his decision and his way of allowing JWP to have some appreciation for his efforts for the season, it didn't feel like that though.
At the final whistle I was out of the ground, there was no point in staying, this season was finally ended, there was nothing to celebrate and half of the players who would do a lap of honour/shame would probably not be back at the club next season.
Now the season is over we can firstly point fingers and when we have finished doing that, secondly look to the future.
We can't change this season now, we can only influence the next, Sport Republic have been pro active in appointing new men in key roles who will be starting soon, perhaps that will nullify some of the criticism of this season, we will hopefully have leadership both in the coaching staff and also backroom staff and the boardroom.
There is of course the new manager, Russell Martin seems to be the man, I have to admit I can see little that fills me with enthusiasm, but if and when he is the manager, I will back him, if only because i have no other choice, lets be blunt when Nigel Adkins was appointed in 2010 it was not a thrilling choice and his early games saw the team lose ground in the promotion race and he was under pressure from the fans, but we stuck with him and it paid dividends and he remains one of the most popular Saints managers with the supporters.
The thing to take away from Sunday is that it is never about what has happened, it is always about what you do next, everyone makes mistakes, hopefully Sport Republic have learnt from theirs and get it right in 2023/24.